Record of the 23rd APCCA
Specialist Workshop Two
1. INTRODUCTION
The Workshop was attended by delegates from a number of countries and was chaired by Mr Kelvin Pang, Commissioner of the Correctional Services Department of Hong Kong (China), with Dr Roderic Broadhurst and Mrs Irene Morgan. A formal and comprehensive powerpoint presentation was given by Mr Tai Kin-man (Superintendent (Human Resource) of Hong Kong Correctional Services Department). Mr Tai highlighted the following issues:-
Ø Development of core competencies for Correctional Services Department (CSD) staff.
Ø Formulation of career profile for CSD staff.
Ø Training and succession planning for senior officers.
Ø Other initiatives to groom CSD senior officers for succession purposes.
After the presentation, the participants were given the opportunity to ask questions on issues arising from the presentation, with responses from Mr Pang, Mr Tai, Dr Broadhurst and Mrs Morgan. The participants were then divided into two groups to allow more in-depth discussion, and the groups were facilitated by Dr Broadhurst and Mrs Morgan. Both groups engaged in discussion on a range of themes on succession planning, which drew upon the presentation provided by Hong Kong (China).
The main themes can be outlined as follows.
2. VISION AND GOAL
All participants agreed that the success of an organisation was dependent upon the leadership of senior management and that the common goal was to fulfill the department’s ‘Vision, Mission and Values (VMV)’. As stated by Mr Tai, while the “VMV, like a lighthouse, sets clear direction and objectives for the Department, correctional managers at the top act as captains giving sailors guidance and instruction to sail ahead”.
However, a number of participants also pointed out that, although written goals are important, it is far more important to ensure that those goals are in fact achieved.
3. CURRENT PROBLEMS
(a) The ‘age bulge’
Some countries such as Macao (China), Hong Kong (China) and Australia (Queensland and Western Australia) identified an “age bulge” problem. A large number of Queensland and Western Australia’s senior managers fall within the 50+ age group. The impending retirement of these senior managers (and hence, a future loss of leaders) means that strategies need to be put into action to recruit and groom potential leaders as soon as possible. At the other end of the spectrum, Macao (China) has a much younger-aged staff holding senior positions. These younger leaders face the challenging role of steering the ship in the right direction.
(b) Respect and loyalty for seniority
Although the required leadership skills may be absent in some senior managers, they are nevertheless often respected for their seniority and experience.
(c) Changing skills for the job and restructuring of the organisation
It was agreed that the recruitment of quality senior managerial workforce is an “ongoing process responding to the changing societal needs and demands” and the restructuring of the organisation. Thus, the skills required of a senior manager is constantly changing which makes the role a demanding and challenging one. Moreover, there are different roles of senior management (prisons, community corrections and rehabilitation). Today, senior managers are not merely administrators and managers. They are expected to be leaders to direct and motivate fellow officers to achieve the vision and goals of the organisation. However, these problems can be overcome with holistic training and the development of a career development plan for all staff members (discussed below).
(d) Different leadership styles adopted by each country
Each country adopts a different leadership style to suit the respective needs of its organisation and society.
4. QUALIFICATIONS VERSUS EXPERIENCE
Is it necessary for senior managers to have an academic qualification (for example in corrections, criminology, criminal justice, penology or management)? There was general agreement that having an academic qualification is an advantage, but that having a qualification does not necessarily make a person a leader. What makes a successful senior manager is a person who successfully combines personality, integrity and professionalism with management and leadership skills.
5. KEY COMPETENCIES
In its presentation, Hong Kong (China) defined ‘competencies’ with reference to the “knowledge, attributes, attitude and skills needed by all employees of the organisation to perform a job effectively … [which] … serve as a common operating platform to go with the Department’s vision, mission and values for the implementation of various human resource strategies.”
Both groups identified the following competencies which are necessary for a good and effective leader:-
Ø Strong communication skills
Ø Resource management skills
Ø Interactive and coordination skills
Ø Decision-making skills
Ø Integrity and professionalism
Ø Inner personal quality
Ø Enthusiasm and an appetite to lead and succeed
Ø Motivational skills
Ø Political sensitivity in order to implement policies
Ø Strategic skills
Ø Good public relations skills
Ø In touch with the needs of staff
Ø Accountability
Ø Leadership and procedural skills
6. SYSTEMS TO IDENTIFY LEADERS
It is important to identify the core competency requirement for each rank of personnel staff (and not just senior managers) within the organisation in order to create a link between the various ranks and to ascertain the promotion potential and leadership qualities of each staff member. In Hong Kong (China), Thailand and Singapore, potential leaders are identified at the early stages of his or her career. Each country has its own method of identifying potential leaders:
Ø Leadership programmes to identify and develop a pool of leaders.
Ø Participation in and monitoring through training programmes.
Ø External educational and professional links with various universities and other training institutions.
Ø Availability of academic scholarships.
Ø Cooperation with other governmental agencies for postings and secondments. For example, Singapore has implemented a “Talent Management Scheme” to provide wide exposure for staff in areas such as police, defence, immigration, and narcotics. A similar scheme also exists in Hong Kong (China). Such postings provide opportunities for staff members to network with other agencies, and to gain knowledge and experience in a different field.
Ø Overseas exposure through staff exchange programmes and training attachments.
7. KEY TRAINING NEEDS
Key training needs were identified in the following areas:
Ø Effective communication skills.
Ø Staff management skills.
Ø Public relations and external relationship building skills.
Ø Crisis management (security, prison disturbance, fire, and emergency).
Ø Understanding of different cultures and learning different foreign languages in view of the increasing number of foreign prisoners in prisons.
Ø Teamwork.
Ø Policy design to foster creative and strategic thinking.
Ø Leadership training.
Ø Clarification of roles to make efficient and effective use of resources.
8. FORMULATION OF STAFF CAREER PROFILES
Successful succession planning involves the development of a career profile for each individual staff member within the organisation, so that staff members at each rank will be able to:-
Ø Know the competencies to be achieved for promotion consideration;
Ø Identify the related training and development courses available at different stages;
Ø Understand the posting measures for exposure and experience enhancement; and
Ø Have a clear picture of the promotion prospect of his/her respective rank.”
This will enable staff members to “map out” their respective career paths, and enhance their leadership and strategic management capacities to undertake more challenging positions in the future. Equally, it assists the organisation in resource allocation, acknowledges the needs of the individual, identifies relevant training programmes, and identifies potential leaders.
9. COMPETENCY-BASED PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
The purpose of a competency-based performance appraisal is to review, reinforce, record, monitor, and identify the needs and achievement of the individual staff member. It identifies the values, behaviours, attitudes, knowledge and skills of the individual, in order to achieve excellence in service. Importantly, with respect to succession planning, it serves as a tool to groom potential leaders and provides opportunities to reward the individual for his or her achievements by way of promotions.
10. CONCLUSION AND THE ROLE OF APCCA
The member countries viewed APCCA as a valuable forum which provides a number of benefits and opportunities with respect to succession planning:
Ø Sharing of ideas
Ø Friendship
Ø Staff exchanges
Ø University involvement
Ø Comparative information and studies
Ø The website will provide a tool for the exchange of information, interaction and continuity of networking between members.
Succession planning goes hand in hand with delivering the training needs of staff members at all levels of the organisation. As succinctly put by Hong Kong (China), the “development of core competencies, career profiles and competency-based performance appraisal system are ways to enable staff members to know their strengths and limitations for proactive actions to bridge the gaps and move up the career ladder in the profession”. Additionally, senior managers can act as role models for the entire organisation, and the system assists them to identify potential leaders and to groom them appropriately.